Pita Pies

My favorite part of Christmas is yanking out all the made-from-scratch authentic  recipes from old family binders. Generally, this is when a family's nationality comes through. For my family, this means Norwegian Vafler and chocolates. For mt friend Maria, this means homemade pasta from her mother's Italian side and authentic pita from her father's Macedonian side. 

Now, when I say "pita," I don't mean the mediterranean bread you eat with hummus. I'm talking fluffy pastry pies stuffed with cheese and deliciousness.

Sound good? 

                                    

I thought so.

Well, Maria's family was generous enough to let me stop by for a pita-making session to show me the secrets to making this savory dish. Surprisingly easy, it can be whipped up quickly and packs a ton of flavor.

To make your own pita, grab these ingredients:

1 medium onion, sliced

1 pinch paprika

olive oil

12 oz Greek feta cheese

12 oz farmer's cheese

2 eggs

splash of lemon juice

Fillo dough

melted butter

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Start by heating your olive oil in a pan. Toss in your onions and a pinch of paprika, enough to cover the whole pan of onions. Sautee until golden brown.

While the onions are cooking, mix your cheese, eggs, and lemon juice in a giant bowl.

Finally, when the onions are done, mix them in with your cheese.

Next, grab your melted butter and your Fillo dough to prepare the pockets.

Start by placing a piece of Fillo on a cutting board or other clean surface. Trifold the dough.

Paint the surface with melted butter using a kitchen brush.

Then, scoop a dollop of the cheese mixture on the end of your dough.

Fold the dough forward once to cover the cheese.

Then, fold the corner over to the opposite side of the dough, forming a triangle. Continue this pattern, switching sides until you're at the end of your dough.

Brush your pita with some more butter and place it on a baking sheet. Repeat until you're out of cheese.

Bake the pitas in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy.

The final step is to enjoy your deliciously creamy and tart pita. But careful - they're hot!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone in the U.S.! There's nothing like a holiday centered around stuffing your face full of comfort food. Thank goodness it only comes once a year, or else I'd find an excuse to make all these delicious flavors appear on my plate at least once a month.

Considering I run a food blog, I felt it was imperative that I share a little bit of my own Thanksgiving with everyone. This holiday is usually a relaxed affair for my family, which means all the joy of eating massive quantities of food without the wacky aunt and uncle trying to tell you about "back in the day."

We always start off with a fruit salad..

The salad features a cherry mayonnaise dressing - it's a Scandinavian thing.

Being morally opposed to the taste of mayo, I opt for a plain salad every year.

Next comes the main courses and side dishes. My mom puts out two different kinds of cranberry sauce - the canned and a homemade version. I'm partial to the homemade version due to its rustic prairie days feel. If you took the essence of a forest, covered it in sugar, and ate it, you'd get this dish.

My favorite side is the dressing, my family's take on traditional fatty stuffing. Instead of filling the bird with breadcrumbs, you put the stuffing mixture in a dish and bake it. Less fat, same great taste!!

And no Thanksgiving dinner would be complete without the grand finale - the turkey...

If you're interested in re-creating my favorite healthy side dish, grab these ingredients:

3 1/2 loafs white bread, crusts removed and cubed

2-3 turkey wings, boiled, meat shredded

1 onion, chopped

1 cup chopped celery

3 cans chicken broth

2.5 oz dried sage (roughly 4 tablespoons)

salt

pepper

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Combine your bread, meat, onions, and celery into a bowl. Slowly stir in your chicken broth, mixing well to combine. Add your sage, salt, and pepper in increments, tasting about 3/4 the way through to make sure the taste is to your liking. Pour the whole thing in a large buttered pan and cook for 45 minutes.

Happy belated Thanksgiving! And get ready for some Christmas recipes....

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Breakfast with Bread

You've probably heard many people tell you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
In an effort to not offend the other two meals in a day, I won't call breakfast the most important. I will, however, call it the most delicious.
Especially when done my way. Two soft boiled eggs, a few strips of toast, and a steaming mug of hot coffee.
Now that's a wake-up.

If you're drooling all over your keyboard, fear not! This is probably one of the simplest and quickest breakfasts to make that you can whip up yourself in a few short minutes.

For those of you who've never boiled eggs before, you'll need a small pot filled with water. Sprinkle on some salt and bring it to a boil. Once it's boiling, pop your eggs into the water. Be sure to do this VERY slowly so that the heat doesn't crack your cold eggs (in fact, feel free to leave your eggs out for 10 minutes before cooking so that they warm up a bit):
large eggs - 4 minutes
xtra large eggs - 4.5 minutes

jumbo eggs - 4.5-5 minutes
(depending on how runny you like your yolks).

Then just pull em out, toast some bread and enjoy your golden-centered breakfast. Don't forget to dip your bread into the yolk!

If you live in a dorm, or some other sort of small habitat without a stove, fear not! Thanks to Nordic Ware, all you need is a microwave and this egg boiler:

Fill this giant egg with water, pop in your real eggs, and microwave them until they're done. Find it online here.

Additionally, you'll need some sort of egg holders to keep your breakfast upright while you eat it (and trust me, holding it with your hand is the fast track to burned fingers). My little white egg holders are from IKEA, and at $2.99 per cup, they're an excellent deal. You can also order some online here.

For those of you wondering why a recipe blog is featuring something as simple as soft boiled eggs, I must confess that I have a personal attachment to them. To me, soft boiled eggs always means holidays. Every New Years and Christmas breakfast came equipped with at least one or two of these bad boys standing up straight on your plate, ready to be devoured. The best part? They came with little warming hats on them like these:

Find the pink one online here, the elephants here.

I loved these little crocheted cuties so much, I requested one be put on my hard boiled egg when I was a child (I hadn't yet developed the adult taste for runny yolk).
Nowadays, these eggs are my quick, easy and filling breakfast. Less calories than frying or scrambling, and so much more fun to eat.
xx

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lab cafe

It's midterm season, which means a lot of time being spent holed-up in libraries and coffee shops wearing university sweatshirts and thick-rimmed glasses.
Stressful, for sure, but also very delicious at times. Particularly when you pick the right coffee shop.
Yesterday night, Joanna and I got together for a late-night homework and skype date with Katie. To ensure high-quality caffeination, we went to lab cafe, a mod-style coffee shop with minimalist decor and an excellent cappucino.

Psst! They also serve homemade fro-yo!

However, you must forgive me for skipping over the fro-yo to highlight some baked goods and creamy coffee.

This chocolate croissant will change your life.
Seriously.

My lovely cappuccino with the signature foam art on top. Lab cafe always tops off your cup with a cute design - even if you get it to go!

Joanna was being a good student while I munched on layers and layers of flakey pastry.

Until we decided it was skype time.

Bottomless cups, delicious baked goods and international chats. All part of a balanced day.

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